If
you ask someone whether they want to win or lose, I expect most will
reply they want to win. NOTE: There will be a segment who just wants to
have fun, but I'll bet they'd prefer to win than lose.

Here are 3-tips to help you do it right and win in the website game:

1. Don't add to the clutter!The
world wide web is full of clutter - propaganda about anything and
everything. When people visit your website give them something of value
and make it easy for them to find it. It's great if you have some info
to share, but if your site is a mess of links with a poor navigation
structure they'll never find it.

2. Build for scalabilityEven though you think you've got all the bases covered with your website, do you know what the future will bring?

A
month down the road you may need to add another menu item on your
navigation bar. Three months down the road you may want a shopping
cart. Eight months down the road you have such a thriving online
business you need to hire someone to do your marketing, including
updating website content.

All of these things are of course
possible, however, the ease with which and cost associated with these
types of upgrades can vary drastically if your site is not built for
scalability.

3. Build it and they will come . . . Not necessarily!If
you invest in a website I'm fairly certain you want people to find it
and visit it. So how do you get ranked by the search engines and found
by your potential clients? There are lots of ways to get your rankings
up, but true organic SEO takes time and money. (Sorry, no trade
secrets here!)

You can liken it to buying a house where you
get pre-approved for a $200,000 mortgage. You would be remiss if you
purchased a house for $200,000 without consideration for closing costs,
lawyers, etc., which can easily add up to thousands of dollars.

Make sure you budget for search engine optimization and other tactics to ensure your site is actually found!

So
the moral of this website story: Using an upside down "M" to spell
"Website" instead of a "W" may work in the short term, but if you
really want to win the game, use the "W" its worth 4 points and the "M"
is only worth 3, and one point can mean the difference between a win
and a loss!

Speaking of websites, check out our new website! We have a whole new
look and a few new features, PLUS some audio clips with testimonials
from some of our clients!